http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/live...m-hicks-and-george-gillett-100252-23911373/2/ CITY MPs have launched a fresh bid to topple Liverpool FC’s American owners. They want the government to pull the plug on a crucial £350m loan to Tom Hicks and George Gillett – by taking advantage of the part-nationalisation of the Royal Bank of Scotland. MPs said the move, prompted by fury over the apparent collapse of plans for a new stadium, would force the Americans to sell. A parliamentary motion was tabled by Walton MP Peter Kilfoyle calling on the government to “ensure the Royal Bank of Scotland does not renew that credit facility at the end of its current termâ€. Backed by West Derby MP Bob Wareing the motion was first tabled last autumn. The new attempted “coup†comes at a crucial time – because the Liverpool loan expires on July 24. Mr Kilfoyle said: “My concern is for the regeneration that is planned for the area around the new stadium which will not go ahead unless it is built. “At the current time there are a lot of conflicting demands for that money. “That means it could be lost altogether because the stadium seems to be as far away as ever.†Mr Kilfoyle accepted RBS was still an “autonomous†organisation. But he added: “The government has a great deal of influence, because it is the majority shareholder.†Hicks and Gillett announced a one-year delay to the Stanley Park scheme last October. Since then, the Anfield crisis has worsened with the revelation of a £42.6m loss, mainly because of interest payments on debts taken on to buy the club.
Well the pair of ****s are effectively getting tax payers money to help line their own pockets down the road.Some will say that as long as RBS get there repayments that can only be good for them but public opinion towards banks different now and whats these ****s are doing is just another form of corporate cronyism. Buying time to ride out the recession off the back of the taxpayer and the fans and then milk **** out of everyone and anyone when the current financial crisis subsides. Get these *******s out NOW!!!!!!!!!!
Exactly mate, this is the type of pressure thats needed ,he is not just talkin about money but how he is concerned about the regeneration project and that wont go ahead until a new stadium is built. Hopefully the banks listen to it and refuse the extension next month
theres a concern we might end up with a worse situation than wea re in now, however if there is any lesson learned maybe a knee jerk decision wont happen and this will give a real chance of a decent backer getting involved fingers crossed
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090616/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bba_rangers_layoffs_2 Texas Rangers lay off several front office staff Tue Jun 16, 4:11 pm ET ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas Rangers have cut several staff members from their front office about two weeks after owner Tom Hicks said he was exploring a sale of the team. Rangers spokesman John Blake said Tuesday the cuts amounted to less than 10 percent of the staff. He said the possible sale of the team was among several factors that led to the layoffs. Before the cuts, the Rangers had about 275 employees, excluding onfield personnel. The move came despite the first-place Rangers enjoying a resurgence at the gate. Attendance has increased about 11 percent over last year to 867,016 entering Tuesday's interleague series opener against the Houston Astros. Hicks said last month he would be willing to sell controlling interest in the franchise, in part because of financial problems he is facing. Earlier this year, Hicks Sports Group defaulted on $525 million in loans backed by the Rangers and the NHL's Dallas Stars, the other U.S. pro sports team Hicks owns. Hicks bought the Rangers for $250 million in 1998. Forbes last month valued the Rangers at $405 million, 15th among the 30 major league teams. Two years ago, Hicks combined with Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr. to buy the English soccer club Liverpool through an entity separate from the Hicks group facing the loan default.
heres an idea - ya keep your texas rangers, you sell Liverpool and get the f*ck out of our club and back to yank land.
AT LAST..............SOMEBODY DOING SOMETHING POSITIVE.........fair play to them i hope it works.....i could move to liverpool just to vote for them
Looks like someones come into a bit of money http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4274642 Hockey's most storied franchise has been sold, pending approval from the NHL. Sources told ESPN.com Saturday that the Molson family has agreed in principle to purchase the Montreal Canadiens and Bell Centre from George Gillett. The deal needs approval from the NHL's Board of Governors. The league needs to do due diligence on the sale and have a board vote, and a source said Saturday that approval of the sale "will be sometime mid-summer at the earliest." French sports network RDS reported Saturday that the sale was worth $550 million, but a source told ESPN.com that the price was in excess of that. Commissioner Gary Bettman, who addressed the players during the NHLPA summer meetings in Las Vegas, acknowledged having heard about the Molson family's agreement to buy the Canadiens. Asked about the Molson family, Bettman said: "I think to the extent that they've been able to find people who are obviously passionate about the game and structure a transaction that makes sense for everybody, that's a real plus for the franchise and the fans in Montreal."
yeah heard this on bbc this morning, the hockeys going, his texas rangers is going = 350 million if he can get it. Now its make or break, obviously the american banks arent supporting them, why the f*ck are the english / scottish banks?!
The selling of the Montreal Canadiens for USD 550 million is probably on the whole a mixed bag of news for Liverpool FC fans: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2009/0621/liverpool.html Many of us are not happy with the fact that Liverpool FC is heavily in debt and this keeps the club back in both a financial and footballing sense. So having an owner that is debt free and willing to put in investment in the club would be ideal. Now having one half of the american owners look as if they are making some decent money on the Canadiens that should make Liverpool FC at least more stable financially in the short term with the July 24th deadline looming ominously. On the other hand, I dont know the finer details of the Montreal Canadiens purchase by Gillet back in 1998, but no doubt leverage was involved. And if he sees that 'flipping' the Canadiens worked with a bumper pay day years later, he may dig in for the long-term with Liverpool FC. Overall though, we wont know if this puts off or accelerates their off-loading of Liverpool FC. But if the deal with Molson closes before Jul 24 and Gillet gets the cash, it would put him in a strong position to require less of a loan for Liverpool FC and also have more potential suitor lenders. All we can do is wait and see what happens. In terms of the ShareLiverpoolFC "movement", they have laid their cards on the table and clearly wont be in pa position to buy Liverpool from G&H. They are hinting that they are willing to put up 10% in a partial share with a strong partner, so that would indicate that they have or are confident of having 35 to 50 million of funds. Liverpool FC wont be owned by the fans until they are willing to put their pocket where their mouth is and indicate a willingness to invest in buying the club, and at 10% that looks a long way off. Redspider
If they cleared off the debts and started turning things around would people be happy, that is the question? If they cleared their debts, began what they promised I think a lot of people would forgive and forget
Liverpool FC Co-Chairmen, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, today announced the appointment of Christian Purslow as Managing Director of the Club. Christian Purslow will assume overall management of the Club until the appointment of a new Chief Executive, and will then continue as a Board Director. As Managing Director, Purslow will represent the owners and oversee all financial and operational aspects of the Club, working with Rafa Benitez on player transfers and with the Club's Group Chief Financial Officer, Philip Nash and Commercial Director, Ian Ayre on Club and commercial management. George Gillett said: "Tom and I felt that it was important to put a highly experienced and respected executive in place to run the Club and support the senior team and the Manager. There's a lot to get done over the summer to build on the great season we just had and Christian will be a valuable addition to the team." Tom Hicks added: "Christian has been a great supporter of the Club for many years and he's already built up good relationships at Anfield. His strategic and commercial acumen will be a real asset and we're delighted that he has made a long term commitment to the Club." Christian Purslow, 45, a long time Liverpool season ticket holder, is an Executive Board member of MidOcean Partners, a private equity firm which he co-founded. He was previously a director of Morgan Grenfell Private Equity. Prior to his private equity career Purslow was Head of Media, Cable and Entertainment for Schroder Salomon Smith Barney in Europe and head of UK Mergers and Acquisitions for Credit Suisse First Boston. Purslow is a fluent Spanish speaker, has a modern Languages degree from Cambridge University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Executive search firm Odgers Berndtson is conducting the CEO recruitment process and an appointment will be made in due course. - What does this mean anyone?!? - Good, Bad, Same Old Same Old?
Its not just the money that's the issue, its the lies and sheer incompetence of pair of them. They cannot be trusted.
Wont happen, the time to have done that was when the bought the club and they were both in a strong financial position now they are selling their assets just to stay afloat. I cant see either of them being prepared to put all their eggs in one basket now with Liverpool and risk their entire fortune which is what they would be doing. How many clubs actually make a real profit that doesnt go straight back into the club to pay for players? The only way they can make money is selling up as is the case with any club owner.
Good way of looking at it, I guess if they got the offer they would snap at it... Oh for a seikh to come along and make a bid...
its great news about the sale of this hockey team or something? does it do anything for rafas transfer funds or just ease some of the financial pressure on the club??